Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume17 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 1===

A city suddenly appeared from behind a sandstorm.

By the time Kamito and the girls reached the city gates on foot, dawn was almost about to break.

"Hey Kamito... Are we hallucinating? Or is this a mirage?"

"That's what I hope&mdash;"

Kamito muttered. The scenery in front of him was stunning him, rooting him to the ground.

...Even with it right before his eyes, it was still unbelievable.

Surrounded by sturdy city walls, this place was not some kind of ancient ruins&mdash;

Instead, it was a dizzyingly great metropolis, filled with the vibrancy and noise of crowds.

"...N-No way, how could such a city exist right in the middle of the desert?"

Claire kept blinking and she even pinched Kamito's cheek.

"...It hurts, cut it out."

Even though they all had countless questions in their minds&mdash;

Kamito and company still stepped into the gate.

The main road extending from the city gate had countless residences and shops lined along it. Loaded with cargo, horse-drawn carts were moving back and forth through a plaza filled with open-air stalls.

The people in the streets were dressed similar to the Theocracy's attire, but there were minute differences in the design of accessories and how they wore their turbans compared to the residents of Mordis.

"This isn't the result of spirit magic or a barrier&mdash;"

Wiping sweat from her forehead, Fianna spoke.

"The people here all look alive."

Claire and the girls exchanged looks. If this were a hallucination generated by spirit magic or a barrier, Fianna would have seen through it&mdash;That was what they had expected.

"I-Impossible! After all, this is a desert of death!"

"That's right. It's hard to believe even when I'm seeing it."

"I cannot believe it either. No matter what spirit, this sort of thing is&mdash;"

"Impossible&mdash;I wouldn't be so sure of that, Your Highness."

Jet-black feathers floated from the sky as a darkness spirit appeared in a dress in the color of night.

"Restia&mdash;"

"If one were to pray to a powerful spirit, such as an Elemental Lord, for a miracle, wouldn't this sort of thing be possible?"

"What, are you saying you know something, darkness spirit?"

Hearing this, Claire frowned, but Restia shook her head.

"It doesn't count as knowing, but I cannot imagine anyone capable of this except for powerful spirits."

"Dracunia's Dragon King, for instance?"

"Indeed. It might be possible for spirits on that level."

"Anyway, this is the Demon King's Tomb, right?"

This time it was Kamito's turn to raise a qustion.

"Yes, though technically, this is the Demon King's Capital rather than the Tomb. This is undoubtedly Alkazard, the capital of Zoldia, Demon King Solomon's kingdom. Furthermore, it continues to look as it did a thousand years ago."

Restia nodded and spoke with a slightly perplexed expression.

No one doubted her. After all, she had witnessed the Demon King's Capital with her own eyes a thousand years ago&mdash;

"Uh, what happened exactly?"

"Who knows...?"

Restia closed her eyes and shook her head.

It looked like the truth eluded her too.

This was the Demon King's Capital, supposedly destroyed by Sacred Maiden Areishia a thousand years earlier.

Why did it continue to exist unchanged to this very day?

"Look! The people who exit the gate disappear gradually&mdash;"

Hearing Claire's voice, Kamito and the others looked back towards the city gate.

They saw pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages outside the city gate disappearing gradually like a mirage.

"W-What on earth is going on...?"

"A-Are they hallucinations after all? But&mdash;"

Rinslet could not help but feel afraid. Ellis murmured with a look of incomprehension.

"...Well, staying here won't solve anything."

Claire shrugged and turned her gaze to the crowded plaza.

"Anyway, let's enter and check it out."

"Yeah&mdash;"